Windham – The Village of Windham’s search for a police chief came to an end last week with council approving the hiring of Gene H. Fixler to serve as the Chief of Police for the village. Mayor Rob Donham II issued the oath of office to the chief in front of a crowd of well wishers, friends, former colleagues and family at the December council meeting. The chief’s son Brian Fixler was given the honor of affixing the Windham Police Department (WPD) chief badge on his father.
Chief Fixler brings 36 plus years experience to the Windham Police Department. During the course of his career Fixler has served in various capacities in law enforcement and most recently served as a Lieutenant with the Grand River Police Department and also served as a Lieutenant of the State of Ohio of Mental Health Police Department Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare. Chief Fixler is expected to be officially on the job within the next few weeks.
In other council news, Mayor Donham stated that he attended the last Portage County District Library (PCDL) board meeting and the board appreciated the village subsidizing the library. The Village of Windham agreed at their November meeting to subsidize the library $800/ month if they would relocate to a facility within the village limits. The PCDL expects to relocate to the Renaissance Family Center (RFC) in the next month or so. The village also thanked Windham Township for their willingness to loan them snow removal material if their supply became depleted in the recent storms, however, the assistance was appreciated and turned out not to be needed. Finally, the Parks and Recreation Committee announced the winners of the annual lighting contest. Committee chairman Phil Snyder stated that they had 160 homes entered in the contest and the winners are:
1st place: Bud and Rella Mullinax of Spring Drive,
2nd place: Carl and Marian Angus of Spring Drive
3rd place: Ken and Kaye Friend of North Main Street
Honorable mention: Don and Kim Ridenbaugh & Ken and Freda Shearer
Mr. Snyder thanked all the participants and encourages more folks to considering entering next year. Prizes were donated by local businesses.
In other Windham Safety news, the W.V.F.D. Joint Fire District issued the oath of office to newly-appointed Fire Chief Mike Iwanyckyj. The Fire Board Fiscal Officer Jayme Neikirk issued the oath of office while retiring Fire Chief Clair Simpson affixed the chief’s new badge.
